Sound of the Past
by ClarityInObscurity
Summary: After a trip away from home, Cloud returns to a familiar sound, one he had not heard since before he was in SOLDIER.


Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of FFVII or make profit off them.

_This was inspired by the song "The Wisdom of Snow" by Trans-Siberian Orchestra._

* * *

It had been a long two days away from home. Catching the kickstand with the back of his boot, Cloud brought his motorcycle monstrosity to a rest. He took his hands off the handles and sat back for a moment, admiring the house he stopped in front of. It wasn't long ago that the house with a white picket fence and light green shutters and an oak front door had been finished. It was one of the last houses to be built in the town of Edge. Tifa's house.

When his right foot touched ground, Cloud swung his left leg over the bike and proceeded to the front door. The door opened and shut with a whisper and Cloud sighed in relief of being off the road. He unlaced his boots, took them off his feet, and placed them next to the other three pairs of shoes by the door. Tifa was adamant about dirt not being tracked into the house.

As Cloud began to make his way to the kitchen to make himself a small lunch, he heard a noise from the living room. It was a sound he had not heard in a long time. It was a sound that had reminded him of Tifa and his life before SOLDIER. It was a sound that had kept him sane during a time when he didn't know who he was. Though, the sound he heard now was not as educated as he knew Tifa's hands to be.

Quietly, he snuck through the house. There, seated on the bench before a grand piano that had not been there when Cloud left, was Tifa and Marlene. In a soft voice, Tifa instructed Marlene on different keys and notes. Marlene would touch a key to hear what sound was produced from it. This went on for a few more moments before Tifa told Marlene to go finish her homework with Denzel and to get washed up for dinner.

The young girl scampered up the stairs, not realizing Cloud was hiding around the corner. He was going to enter the living room at that moment, but he held back. He heard Tifa shift herself on the seat, probably moving to the middle. His hesitation was rewarded. Tifa pushed a few keys and warmed up with a little ditty all children learned when learning how to use a piano. After a short pause, she began to play a song that he had never heard. On all those nights he had listened from outside her living room window when they lived in Nibelheim, he had never heard this melody.

It started off light, hopeful and high. It reminded him of the snowfall last winter. The first snow that the children had ever seen. They had woken Tifa up late in the night and rushed her to a window. They begged to go outside to play in it with the other children, and she allowed under the condition they would come back in when they got too cold.

The music then turned somber, almost sad. Why was it so sad? He peeked around the corner to see her body moving with the music. She was passionate and lonely. It gave him the impression of how she endured much on their journey, trying to keep the peace and gluing the group of misfits together.

Back to the hopeful and high notes again. And to a soft ending that left the listener content with the thought that everything would turn out right in the end. That the problem was solved and life would be happy.

Cautiously, Cloud walked over to Tifa and placed a hand on her shoulder. She tensed and turned around to look at him, surprise written all over her face. He squeezed her shoulder gently. "I don't ever remember this song," he said.

She smiled slightly and turned back to the piano. She lightly dragged her fingers across the keys, but without enough pressure to cause noise. "I wrote this piece while we were all traveling together. I had a small notebook I kept hidden in my pack. Sometimes, late at night on my watch, I would take it out and write and create and compose. It was my way of coping when everything got rough and we were all tired of the mission and each other," she answered the question he never asked.

"And where did the piano come from?"

"Marlene wanted to learn how to play once she found out I knew how. Barret gave me to the money to do so. She should catch on quick. She's a bright girl."

The two stood in silence, reminiscing in their own worlds. Cloud stood close enough that Tifa could lean back into him. She tilted her head back and look at his face. His eyes were far away in some other time. Soon, he blinked and came back to the present. He looked down at her, aware that she was watching him. He gave her a shy smile and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Hey, Teef?" he asked quietly. She made a non-committal noise indicating that she was listening. "Could you play some more? I would like to…hear you play." A blush spread across his cheeks as he looked away from her.

Tifa smiled at him. "Of course, Cloud." She leaned forward and positioned herself, back straight and fingers poised. She felt Cloud's hand leave her shoulder. She heard him behind her, repositioning himself. Lightly, she felt the back of his head lean against her back. She took this as a cue to begin playing. She dredged her memory to play the songs that Cloud would remember. She would play a few new ones as well.

Cloud closed his eyes from his position on the floor. He had his knees tucked to his chest, arms around them. His head was tilted back and relaxed. He sat like how he always did beneath the window and remembered a time when life was simple.


End file.
